


Battling Death

by GylfiDekavage



Category: Original Work
Genre: Death, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:20:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21512911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GylfiDekavage/pseuds/GylfiDekavage
Summary: Mathew battles death





	Battling Death

Matthew placed down his half-empty glass and caught the slow-paced movements of the creature entering his peripheral vision. It was hard to call it a person because it simply wasn't. The black robe seemed quite out of place with the surrounding aesthetic of the country bar. The heartbroken song in the background but now captured Matthew's attention since he knew who had arrived. His fist clenched to the point where his knuckles became visible as white knots on his hands. All separated by a similar pattern. The person's steps were soothingly slow. They had a numbing effect on Matthew's mind. As if they were a slow drum beat that sent you into a state similar to a trance. And even though he was so out-of-place, nobody else appeared to have a problem with him. In fact, as Matthew raised his head, he found himself alone with the stranger who now reached the counter and sat next to Matthew. The red-headed man scratched his unkempt beard and looked for his hat, which he always wore outside at any time. It was missing. Matthew felt strangely naked. A short side glance confirmed his misgivings about who was sitting there next to him. The black cloak covered the creature's entire body. The hole, wherein other cases would be the place for a head, was empty. Only darkness resided in there, a darkness Matthew lived through before. Without a face was the person, without hands, without feet, everything that could make him human was missing.

"What are you having?" asked the bartender. Matthew wondered how he had sneaked up on them without him noticing. But it was not like Matthew was paying attention to his surroundings either. Now he did, caused by the new situation. For example, he noticed the music in the background, or how the bartender left him with the creature to prepare hot water. "I would like a cup of tea. Bitter herbs, please." One could barely describe the creature's voice as such. It was not melodic, it was raspy and sounded like torn vocal cords. But there was one thing about it that caught Matthew's attention, and that was its tone. The creature sounded very polite, even despite its heavy metal sound, it was gentle and modest, and Matthew felt like leaning his head down onto its shoulder. But he was far too tense to even think about such a thing. He did not grace his seatmate with a single glance until it turned to him, and the darkness in the space where its face was supposed to be, forced Matthew to return its gaze. Even with no eyes to scan him, no nose to be stuck up and no eyebrows to raise, Matthew felt like this creature was judging him. Yes, it was certainly looking at him, it saw him right into the eyes, and perhaps deep into his soul. "You look like you had a rough day."  
The words came as a surprise to Matthew. The redhead expected something cheesy, yet frightening. This, on the other hand, was a game-changer. What was he supposed to answer to such a friendly conversation starter? Blowing the air out of his cheeks, he listened to a faint noise that sounded like an old steam locomotive slowly making its way onto the far railway. It melted together with the dark song that Matthew could finally identify. It was "Hurt" by Johnny Cash.

"It wasn't easy," he replied friendly, trying to match his opposite's politeness. "I got a terrible diagnosis, pancreatic cancer. It just- I don't know. My life kind of fell apart." Matthew figured that hiding the truth would do him no good here. He was in an unusual situation with no way out. Not even while listening was this creature being rude. It nodded during Matthew's words, letting the man know that it was indeed paying attention. "That sounds terrible," it acknowledged, leaving Matthew to wonder whether it was a better listener than he was. "That didn't happen today...the diagnosis was half a year ago, but I am living on the edge ever since. Every breath could be my last. But that sucks. Man, I have a wife, I have a small son, he's turning eight this autumn, I wanted to do so much with him..." 

The bartender interrupted him by placing the steaming cup of tea next to the cloaked creature. It thanked the old baldhead with a nod and a word before returning with its attention to Matthew. The break in the conversation made the man forget what he wanted to say next and so he simply looked down onto his shoes, giving the creature time to reply. It visibly took hold of the cup, strings of dark mist wrapped around its porcelain surface. They tapped against the cup in the rhythm of the song's guitar chords, without making a sound. Matthew watched the steam that rose from the grey-green liquid's surface and his eyes narrowed shortly when the column was interrupted and pushed to the side as if the creature had blown it. Eventually, it broke the mutual silence. "What did you want to do with him?"

That question stabbed Matthew right into his heart because it was so honest. He did have plans. But there was always doubt if he was going to be able to make it. Self-doubt had always been the bane of his existence. His overly critical view on himself was the Devil on his shoulder. "I want to pay his college loan if he was to get accepted.", he answered as quickly as possible. He wanted to seem like he cared, it was too easy to mess up this atmosphere at this point. Every millisecond counted against him and Matthew just could not afford to hesitate in this interrogation. The friendly conversation from before had turned into an interrogation for Matthew who was now the complete opposite of the creature before him. "I want to show him a lot of music that I used to listen to as a kid, even if he doesn't like it, I don't care." 

Matthew's eyes were begging the creature in front of him. It took a sip from its tea in response and continued to stare at Matthew, "I don't wanna die, man." This sentence had been a long time coming. It was simply necessary, considering who was sitting next to him. The Reaper nodded its cloaked head as if he wanted to agree. "I understand that. I am just surprised that you are accepting it. Usually, people do not tolerate me when I come to collect someone." Another needle that pierced Matthew's knife. He spoke his exact thoughts with the next sentence: "So my time has come, huh?"

The man chuckled. "I don't complain. I lived a good few years with my wife. I guess I just pulled an unlucky string." Again, the Reaper nodded. "You sure did.", he agreed. "And I would even go so far as to say that you don't deserve it." That sentence genuinely made Matthew laugh. A bitter undertone riddled his laugh, but it was no fake laughter either. "There is only so much I can do about that. Only you can change this. It is kinda like the police taking you in after you committed a federal crime. I have been on the run for long, and I knew that this day would come. So why put up a fight now?" 

The Reaper shook his head slowly. "I am a little dumbfounded by the way you are reasoning with the unreasonable here. It makes this visit a lot easier for me. I have to thank you." Another less bitter laugh escaped Matthew and he raised his glass to toast their words. "A toast to the most reasonable death." The Reaper raised his glass and the sound of glass and porcelain colliding in the air synched with the song's last words:

"I will find a way"

Hearing these words, the Reaper turned around as if he was trying to find the man who just said these words out loud. It was too quick for Matthew to say something, though, He turned back to face the redhead and placed his cup down, placing a statement into the room to momentarily made Matthew's heart skip a beat: "Maybe...this doesn't have to be death." The redhead's eyes flew wide open and searched for any kind of feature that could give away a joke. But there was no face to look into. Only a black mist that became more comforting with every second. "What do you mean?" The hands of the Reaper grasped the cup again. "I am referring back to your question from a few minutes ago. Why should you put up a fight? The question is simple. And it has many answers. Your wife is one of them. The son you spoke of is another one. While your life as a whole is a third reason to not give up. But, Matthew, do you know why I am so utterly impressed?" 

Matthew was unable to respond. The question and the usage of his name rendered his poor brain cells useless. He could only shake his head. "You did not give up on life. You had a plan, and you held on to it until the very last second. And when I came, you accepted this new chapter, even if it would be your last." He stood up and turned around, speaking over his shoulder: "And I think that is a determination that deserves a second chance." With movements as slow as before, the Reaper made his way to the bar's exit. Matthew was originally supposed to accompany him outside. But the Reaper had decided against taking him with. Matthew lifted his now half-full glass and emptied it. He felt great, energetic even, so well, that the world around him slowly faded into white.

Annoying beeping noises were the first thing to break through to Matthew in his almost paralyzed state. Then a bright LED light that illuminated the sickroom. His son and wife were blurry mixes of color, but he did not need the full picture to recognize the single most important humans in his life. Two strong arms wrapped around him and ear-piercing screams tortured his sensible sinuses. Matthew did not care. His son was hugging him and his wife was crying tears of joy as far as he could make out. "Daddy! We thought you were gone there for a moment!" The redhead closed his weak arms around his son's tiny body. "I'm here now.", he whispered and soon enough, he found his wife's body pressed against him as well. "I was hoping you would sleep in peace...without pain...I did not believe I would see your eyes open again.", he could hear her sob and a tender smile appeared on his mouth.


End file.
